The Little Rock men's basketball team looks to build on the momentum of a home win as it hits the road for four games beginning Tuesday night. The Trojans play at Southeast Missouri Tuesday night following the women's game that tips off at 5:15 p.m. at the Show Me Center.
Trey Schaap brings play-by-play coverage on 106.7 Buz2 starting with the pregame show 15 minutes prior to game time. The game will also be streamed on ESPN+.
The Redhawks (9-8, 4-2) are one of three teams tied for second place in the Ohio Valley Conference. Little Rock is 3-2 in the league and a half game back.
LAST TIME OUT
The Little Rock men's basketball team outscored Southern Indiana 50-30 in the second half to take a 78-58 win Sunday afternoon at the Jack Stephens Center. The Trojans (9-7, 3-2) snapped a two-game Ohio Valley Conference losing streak.
Trojans forward
Ante Beljan led all scorers with 24 points. He also collected, 3 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks. Emwani Wilkinson added 20 points, 9 assists, 2 steals and a block.
Johnathan Lawson scored 12 of his 13 points in the second half and also added 5 assists, 4 steals and 3 blocks. Freshman
Caleb Pennyfeather had the best game of his young career scoring 11 points, grabbing 8 boards and totaling 4 blocks and 2 assists.
Counting on Caleb
Freshman forward
Caleb Pennyfeather was close to not playing this season. The plan for the 6-foot-11 freshman from Orlando, Fla., was a redshirt season but once the injury bug hit Little Rock's forward court, Trojans head coach
Darrell Walker was forced to use him.
In Sunday's win, he had the biggest game of his career subbing in the starting lineup for post player
Tuongthach Gatkek, who has been serving a league-imposed three-game suspension, for the third straight game. Pennyfeather scored 11 points, grabbed 8 rebounds, blocked 4 shots and dished out 2 assists.
"He had a great night, especially for a freshman," Walker said. "I talked to his dad about it, and got the 'OK' to play him, and I am glad I did. We really needed him. It will help him for next year, too."
Quick Turnaround
Because USI couldn't travel to Little Rock due to inclement weather for its regularly scheduled Saturday game with the Trojans, the contest was moved to Sunday afternoon. Less than 24 hours after the win, the Trojans will be on a bus headed to Cape Girardeau, Mo., to take on Southeast Missouri State on Tuesday. It will be the first of four-straight games on the road.
"If you want to win the OVC, you have to win on the road," Trojans head coach
Darrell Walker said. "I have won the Sun Belt, and the OVC, and we won on the road. We turn right around and play, but we have to be ready. It's a big game. We have to win on the road with four [road games] coming up."
Shaping Up
Before the Trojans returned from Christmas break, head coach
Darrell Walker had a plan. He wanted his team to be more aggressive defensively running and trapping. However, they needed to be in better shape. He and the coaching staff made conditioning an emphasis, and that has continued as games have resumed.
"We are having trouble scoring, so we need to create more opportunities," Walker said. "We want to create more turnovers. We had to get them in better shape. I have to be careful because we have some guys playing a lot of minutes, but we are getting there."
In Sunday's 78-58 win over Southern Indiana, Little Rock forced 15 Screaming Eagles turnovers and scored 22 points off the miscues.
The Series
The teams didn't meet until Little Rock joined the Ohio Valley Conference two years ago and have split four meetings. The Redhawks won the pair of games during the 2022-23 season, and the Trojans won the two last year.
FIRST LOOK: SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATE
The Redhawks (9-8, 4-2) are coming off a 67-56 home loss Saturday. SEMO is in the middle of a four-game home stand. They opened the tilt with a 77-66 win over Southern Indiana.
Teddy Washington Jr., a 6-foot-2, 175-pounder from Blytheville, Ark., leads SEMO with 15.3 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. Rob Martin averages 11.1 ppg. Junior forward Brendan Terry, a 6-7, 215-pounder, and BJ Ward, a 6-0, 195-pound sophomore guard, average just over 9 points per game.
SEMO added six transfers and a freshman after finishing 9-22 last season which included a 4-14 OVC mark.
Head coach Brad Korn played at Southern Illinois under legendary coaches Bruce Weber, who went on to Illinois and Kansas State and Matt Painter, the current Purdue coach.
Korn was an assistant under Weber at Kansas State and also served at Missouri State and his alma mater. Korn is in his fifth year at SEMO. Before last year's down season, he led SEMO to an OVC Tournament title in 2022-23 and the school's first NCAA Tournament berth in two decades.
